Polynya
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A naturally formed transient area of open water surrounded by sea ice, especially in polar or subpolar seas.
"We immediately ascended a hill, and saw that the supposed land was nothing but hummocks of ice, piled up beyond a large Polynia, or space of open water, which extended from east to west, as far as the eye could reach."
- 2 a stretch of open water surrounded by ice (especially in Arctic seas) wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"We immediately ascended a hill, and saw that the supposed land was nothing but hummocks of ice, piled up beyond a large Polynia, or space of open water, which extended from east to west, as far as the eye could reach."
Etymology
Borrowed from Russian полынья́ (polynʹjá, “polynya”) in the 1850s, from Middle Russian полыньѧ (polynʹja) (att. in 1639), from полыи (polyi, “open from above, uncovered; hollow”), whence also Russian полый (polyj, “hollow”), from Old East Slavic полъ (polŭ, “uncovered”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”). The rare plural form polynyi is borrowed from Russian полыньи́ (polynʹí).
Related phrases
More for "polynya"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.